My journey through life with boys, our real food adventure, and finding joy in the mundane.

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In the next edition of Who, What, Where, I am introducing you to an awesome food blogger, a hot/cold sports bottle, and an online store.

As always, while I find value in what I will share, ultimately you get to be the one determining value.

Who: Lisa Leake with 100 Days of Real Food

I was first introduced to 100 Days of Real Food by a friend a few years ago. I was on the hunt for guidance with food education when we were making diet changes to help our oldest. He was having some development challenges, and food modifications were one of the many things that were recommended. I decided to try her 10-day pledge to clean up the food choices in our home. Her thoughts on real food strategies for converting your pantry were SO super helpful. Ultimately as a result of her blog and suggestions, we eat real food 80% of the time. Her crockpot chicken recipe remains one that is in my dinner rotation a few times a month.

The reason that I am suggesting that you visit her blog and follow her on FB is because of her AMAZING page dedicated to school lunches. Now friends, this subject makes me want to rock in a corner. Every.single.day the tinys go to school with lunch. While I am quite cautious about what my kids eat, I am in no way creative. At home, nearly every day, they eat peanut butter and honey sandwiches. I am unable to describe the gnashing of teeth that began when I discovered that one of my kids was attending a nut-free school this year. Y’all…I cannot. If you are preparing lunch for a child with an allergy, or they attend a school with food restrictions, she has you covered! Her website gives you the option to filter by restriction.

I am super visual, so it really helps that she shows pictures of the lunches she packs every day on her FB page. Here is an example of what you might see:

Yes, I obviously bought some colorful muffin cups, because the items in said cups will appear tasty and then be eaten.

Here are some great links to help you:

A bit about why she started the blog: http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/start-here/

Where: Thrive Market

I found this online store a year or so ago through another food blogger. She raved about the prices, so I gave it a quick look.

The first thing that caught my eye was their mission. (I am a total believer that a company that lives their mission is worth supporting.) Their goal is to make healthy food affordable to the masses. They are a membership-based community like Costco, offering members 25-50% off retail. Part of the mission is that for every paying member, they offer a free membership to a low income family. Love.

When I compare prices on food items that we previously purchased at Whole Foods or Costco, Thrive wins. Savings, delivery, and free shipping on orders over $50.

My shopping list rotates a bit, but will typically looks like spices, Larabars, organic oats and different types of flours. I will occasionally get some cereal, organic “lady” products, coconut oil, beans and parchment paper/muffin cups. I do all of the cooking in the house, and most things are made from scratch, so to find a place where I can get raw ingredients cheaper than a grocery store…it is a total win.

The only possible downside is that there is a membership fee, like Costco. $59 per year. They offer a one month trial which will allow you to try the store without paying the membership fee. You can then check prices and assess convenience yourself.

Anyone that wants to give them a go can get 15% off their first order! Use this link:

Full disclosure…they offer current members $25 in credit for referrals that decide to try a membership. If that weirds you out, you can avoid the link above and go directly to http://www.thrive.com; however, you will not receive 15% off your first order.

I will highlight a “Who” (Someone amazing with whom you should connect, blogger you should follow), “What” (Something you need in your life: Product, food item, iPhone App, good book, TV series, etc.) and “Where” (Place you need to visit: Restaurant, cute local brick and mortar business, park, and the like…)

A few promises…

There will be humor (subjective of course.)

These will all be people who I know personally or have followed online for years, things I use/read/eat/watch, and places I frequent.

I will share up front if/when there are any affiliate links, or if I benefit in any way from a connection to a person or product.

While I find value in what I will share, ultimately, you can determine value for yourself.

Here are this week’s features:

Who: Rebecca Matthias

Please e-meet Rebecca Matthias. She is a super sweet attorney that specializes in family and estate planning. I have known Rebecca for many years through our local church. As a result of some networking conversations, I have recently come to understand her offerings more fully. I naively believed that “estate” planning was for those with a sprawling estate with a vineyard, and actual assets. Unless by assets you meant the pink slip to our 1997 Crown Vic, I personally did not think that I needed such services. (Ahem) Earlier in the week during an unrelated conversation with Rebecca, she mentioned that most of her clients were young families. I casually asked her to tell me more. She talked about helping parents designate guardianship for their kids if something happened to them, what would happen with insurance benefits, and beneficiaries and….things went dim and silent. I am pretty sure I was the emoji with the flushed cheeks and wide open eyes. Uh…I was her ideal client, and I did not even have something this important on my radar. What an amazing offering and service for ALL families with tinys. She provides a free 15-minute phone call to chat through her services and assess your needs. I went ahead and had my convo with her already and will start the process of all the things. If you are anywhere in California, please connect with her and see if she is a good fit for your family.

What: Passion Planner

Please let me tell you of the benefits of using a physical calendar. One with actual paper, and written notes, and dates. One that can be touched and carried with you and referenced. Think back to the days of the franklin covey planners. I love technology, and my phone is not far from my person most of the day, but my brain does SO much better with a written, physical planner. There are many on the market, but the one I have settled on is called The Passion Planner. I found this planner when the young creator did a kickstarter campaign to fund the production of a smaller, compact version. (Watch the short kickstarter video here. It sold me.) Passion Planner offers a space for goal setting, monthly and weekly calendar pages, and a section at the end of each month that helps you review your month and reflect. I have found the reflection section super helpful. A few random things that I love are the cover design options, and the fact that it will lay flat when open without being bulky or spiral bound.

Check out some of the features here: http://www.passionplanner.com/what-is-it/

There is a digital tour at the bottom of the page that allows you to flip through the pages.

Shop here: http://www.passionplanner.com/shop/

Where: Main and Elm

Peninsula residents, you must try this fun local gem of a restaurant. At the beginning of the year, a small group of moms that I meet with was on the hunt for a location to host our monthly meetings. A friend went to Main and Elm for an event and texted me with excitement about the restaurant, the food and the vibe. I reached out to the manager, Steve, and he was super accommodating. We have been meeting there ever since!

Main and Elm took over the popular Main Street Coffee and Roasting Company. They made some updates to the patio and back area, and added a few menu items. They are located on Elm, down by the old redwood roller rink. Quiet little area, but full of character. Food is indeed great, they have a lovely patio with heaters and fire pits, and everyone that works there is super friendly. Pay them a visit for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or a yummy dessert. Also keep them in mind for hosting your next small or large group event!

Here is how you can Main and Elm:

150 Elm Street
Redwood City, CA 94063
PH: 650-368-3430

Happy Fall! This season is my favorite. I love the crispness, the soups, the colors and all things pumpkin. Watch for pumpkin recipes in abundance in the weeks to come.

I was able to follow last week’s menu well, which reduced stress. I did find that some meals I really enjoyed, while others we simply eaten to give my body nourishment. While I planned for dinner, I struggled to find things that would satisfy for lunch and snacks. I need to do a bit more prep in the evenings to have grabbables.

Last week’s menu in review:

I really enjoyed the chicken, bacon asparagus salad, and the mexican chicken chowder. The scallop recipe I put on the menu last week is a super easy staple that I LOVE. To my dismay, my husband admitted to not really liking the flavor combo, and requested that it not get much play in the future menus. (Insert: SHOCKED FACE!!!) The only meal I did not enjoy was the balsamic beef. It may have been the cut of beef that I used, but something about the fatty cut and the flavor of the sauce did not work well. I am still trying to choke down the left overs. 😦

Yummy Mexican Chicken chowder soup!

In an attempt to have some breakfast and lunch options for the week, I chopped some russet and sweet potatoes and fried them up in the same skillet I used to cook some chopped bacon. I reunited the bacon and the potatoes on a few different occasions, and topped with a runny fried egg. So satisfying.

Well, tomorrow begins the Fall Food Foundation Detox. (There is still time to join in!) With it, comes weekly dinner menus. I have to plan, or I will be rocking in a corner each day with a bag of chips.

Thursday: I have had a large grass fed roast in my freezer for a while, and could not find a recipe the seemed right. I came across this crock pot balsamic roast beef one, and I am going to see how it goes. We will have burrito bowls (a la chipotle) using the meat.

Scallops, pork tenderloin, beef tacos and the shrimp with zucchini noodles were ALL amazing dinners. I thought for sure the zucchini noodles were going to be gross since they looked like slop, but they were SO good!

The last highlight for the week was actually a rare treat! My sweet friend found a recipe for almond butter protein balls. I snacked on them all week!

Here is the menu for this week:

Monday: Chicken thighs stuffed with avocado and cheese, then wrapped in bacon, (inspired by this recipe) with roasted garlic butter asparagus.

Tuesday: Turkey and black bean burgers (using almond flour instead of breadcrumbs) with a garden salad. Dave will have his on a bun, and I’ll just fork mine. 🙂

Wednesday: Planning to give this zucchini lasagna a go. I will use a sugar free pasta sauce, and will add some ground beef.

Saturday: Asparagus with prosciutto and egg. This might sound gross, but Dave and I LOVE this meal. We do not go to all of the trouble in the recipe. We simply steam the asparagus, frizzle the proscuitto and fry an egg to break over the asparagus. You have to try it.

Sunday: Since we did not get a chance to have these on a previous menu, we will try Fish tacos. I will have these in lettuce wraps instead of on a tortilla. Here is a pic of what they looked like the last time I made them. Cannot wait!!!

Lunches were mostly leftovers thrown into a salad, or a refrig scrounge that made a great meal as a whole. (Brie on approved crackers, fruit, prosciutto, raw veggies)

Dinners were in flux a bit as we had some last minute plans. We also had more food than was needed which allowed for a leftover night. Fajitas, salmon, and chicken/avocado burgers were amazing! I moved the chicken quinoa to tonight, skipped the fish tacos and curry stew, and then had an impromptu dinner at my parent’s house for the 4th. I brought some pastured rib-eyes and chicken thighs to bbq, along with a salad and watermelon. SO good.

I was able to resist treats and wine which might mean that my tastes are changing a bit. We shall see if I dive into a tub of cookie dough once this detox is complete. 🙂

Saturday: Whole chicken will be cooked to supply chicken for a few meals/lunches. The first one will be a Strawberry chicken salad with a strawberry vinaigrette that is also in the recipe. (Can.not.wait to make this y’all)

Sunday: Chicken salad with the remains of the whole chicken, plain yogurt, a touch of dijon, salt/pepper, sliced grapes, sliced apples and almonds. I will have mine in a lettuce wrap and Dave will most likely choose a sandwich.

I am happy to report that I survived my first week. Dare I say….it was not as bad as I thought!

Here are a few things to report from the week:

I do still need coffee. Turns out coffee is actually good with just whole milk or half and half. Who knew!?

By the end of day 2, I was a jerk and my belly was not happy with me. I gave up my fiber supplement for the month as it contains sugar. (This was an unexplainable loss folks.) I was back to feeling “normal” in both my attitude and digestion by day 4.

Could it be possible that my complexion is improving already? I did also switch to a cool new night creme, so it could be a coincidence. Regardless, several people have made comments.

It is REALLY hard to be the only one in my house that is doing this. Dave’s food journey is his food journey, so I did not force him to give this a go. Cooking something different for my boys (hubs included), or a modified version of what I have been eating is pretty rough. Most nights, I have served what I have served what I have served, and Dave got to benefit from a healthier meal.

I am SUPER grateful for my local butcher (go pay him a visit please and support local!), and my CSA because they both allow me the option to keep fresh, high quality food on hand. I might even incorporate the farmer’s market next weekend.

Recap on things I ate last week:

Breakfasts went well. Nothing life changing. I did significantly under-boil close to a dozen pastured eggs, which was a crushing blow. Besides that, I have not been challenged by my options. Oatmeal with whole milk and applesauce carried me through.

Lunch was mostly left-overs and salads. Generally, I struggle with getting my lunch packed up before heading out for the day, then find myself snacking on unhealthy things while I am out. This week, I realized that it only takes a few minutes to plan ahead, and bring both snacks and a hearty lunch. Victory. When I was home for lunch, it usually looked something like this:

I stuck to the dinner plan. Wins included my very favorite whole chicken in my crock pot which fed us for a few nights, and also was added to a few lunch salads throughout the week, meatballs (seared in bacon grease, then baked through), chopped salad with quinoa/apples/sweet potatoes, and the chipotle chicken sweet potatoes (no image because I ate them too fast). All recipe links are in previous week’s menu.

The only dinner that was not a hit was the pho/shrimp soup. I put in too many spices that competed with the flavor of my broth, and it was HOT that evening which made consuming soup less than ideal. I might try it again with some corrections.

Here is what is on the menu for this week. Only including links to dinners. I will post what worked and did not work for breakfast/lunch in my recap next week.

Monday: Steak fajitas. I will have this without tortillas, maybe over salad or rice. I will use the meat for lunch the first few days of the week. I got a massive portion to supply meat for a few meals and lunches. Cook once, eat multiple times y’all.